Surface Pro Could Eventually Get Battery Accessory and Dock

As you already might know, the reviews for the Surface Pro are now in and the Surface Pro’s launch is just around the corner for the United States and Canada. What about the rest of the world though?

So far all we’ve heard is that the Surface Pro will arrive to other markets in the “the coming months”. This kind of vague wording never instills tons of confidence. The good news is that according to a Surface Team member named Ben, the international distribution news is coming, in just a few weeks.

“Few weeks” is still vague, but better than months, I guess. When asked about when it would come to Europe, all that was said as:
We’ll have more to share in the coming weeks with additional markets in the coming months

So the Surface Pro is here in the US and Canada this weekend, many other markets getting it by Spring or Summer. Is there any surprises left? The recent round of reviews gave us ALOT of details and painted a picture a decent if not perfect device that isn’t quite perfect as a tablet, and isn’t quite perfect as a laptop replacement either.

One of the biggest issues is the battery life in the Pro (at only around 4 hours), though that’s far from the only complaint. The good news is that problem might have a remedy in the not too distant future.

Microsoft Hinting At Battery Expansion and More

Today the Surface team held a Ask Me Anything session via Reddit. Most of the talking about the upcoming launch of the Surface Pro of course. In an answer to one Reddit user’s question about the connector on the side, the team replied:

Wow – I’m pumped you caught that – we haven’t announced what they are for but they aren’t an accident! At launch we talked about the “accessory spine” and hinted at future peripherals that can click in and do more. Those connectors look like can carry more current than the pogo pins, don’t they?

This means that Microsoft could add more to the mix using this connector, such as true laptop dock, an extra battery pack, and more.

Of course that’s far from a guarantee it will happen. History is full of electronic devices that had expansion ports that were either never used or barely used (including several game systems, like the Super Nintendo).

Still, the hints seem to be there, especially when another Reddit user directly asked if they planned to make an external battery or a keyboard that has an extended battery. Here’s what they said to that question:

That would require extending the design of the accessory spine to include some way to transfer higher current between the peripheral and the main battery. Which we did…

In other words, the Surface Pro is expandable and that could mean more accessories and capabilities down the road. Still, you have to wonder why they didn’t just include some kind of laptop-like docking station from the beginning as a way to truly transform the Surface Pro into a more powerful laptop replacement.